Christmas Dinner:

Steaks and fish. Little crappy portion-controlled frozen ones that might be good or not. They are similar to Omaha Steaks, but came from somewhere else.

Since the steaks are so small, I'm going to make salmon to go with them, or else shrimp scampi.

Rice side dish (recipe below).

Green beans with a mock hollandaise sauce.

Maybe some sauteed fresh spinach.

Frozen fruit salad made with whole-berry cranberry sauce, cream cheese, and whipped cream, plus some other ingredients. I got carried away and put half a pureed orange (with the peel on) in it, and that made it taste different than what I wanted.

Home-made dinner rolls (recipe below).

Apple pie. We were going to have eggnog ice cream, but couldn't find any. Now we have to decide if whipped cream is going to be good enough, or do we need vanilla ice cream.

and eggnog to drink.

This rice dish is something different that's very decadant with butter and eggs, and so good for a company dish. There is very little rice in it, and it's mostly onions, but somehow when it's cooked, it seems like a rice dish.

Rice and Onion Soubise, from Julia Child

1/4 cup plain raw rice
Salt for the cooking water
1 pound (5 to 6) medium size onions
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks
Salt to taste - start with 1/2 tsp, add more before serving
(tarragon)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Drop the rice into rapidly salted boiling water and boil uncovered for exactly 5 minutes; drain immediately and reserve.

Peel and chop the onions in the food processor: pre-chop roughly, then process 1 1/2 cups at a time, using metal blade and switching machine on and off 3 or 4 times to chop into 3/8 inch morsels.

Melt 4 - 6 tablespoons butter in a 6 to 8 cup Pyrex casserole dish with a lid. Stir in the rice, salt, and onions, mixing well to coat with the butter. Cover the dish and bake in middle level of oven for about 1 hour, stirring up once or twice, until rice is completely tender and beginning to turn a golden yellow. When rice is done, and still warm, beat in the egg; taste carefully and correct seasoning. Stir in tarragon if desired, especially good with chicken, turkey, or pork.

I'm going to go make these dinner rolls. This is a really good recipe, and they freeze well. The first time you make it, seems like a lot of work, but it's not much more than any other yeast roll recipe, and well worth it.

Special Corn Dinner Rolls
1/3 cup yellow corn meal
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
2 cups milk
1 package yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 eggs, beaten
4 to 6 cups flour (all purpose or bread)

Put corn meal, sugar, salt, butter, and milk in the top of a double boiler. Cook until thick, stirring frequently. It will be like cream of wheat or mush. Cool to lukewarm, about 105 to 115 degrees. (Cooling can take up to 45 minutes. Be sure to test temperature.) To speed cool, place the pan in an ice water bath, and stir until it reaches the correct temperature. This will take less than 10 minutes.

Dissolve yeast in water, beat eggs, and add both to lukewarm mixture. Beat thoroughly. Cover and let rise in a warm place about 2 hours.

Stir in approximately 4 cups flour to form a soft ball. Turn out on floured board and knead about 10 minutes. The dough tends to be soft, so add more flour as you work it to keep it from sticking to board and hands. (Use another cup of flour before kneading if dough seems to be too sticky to handle easily.) Place kneaded dough in greased bowl, grease exposed surface, cover with damp cloth, and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down and turn out on floured board and shape as desired.

For crescent rolls: divide dough into 4 equal balls. Roll into circles about 1/4 inch thick. Brush with melted butter. Using a pizza cutter, cut dough like a pie into 12 to 16 wedges depending on the size of the rolls you wish. Roll wedge tightly from wide end to point. Place on greased baking sheet point side down and bend roll into a crescent shape. Let rise 1 hour, until double. You can also just shape into balls and bake as pan rolls. Bake 15 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees or until lightly browned.